A New Shade
by LaDyFiCtIoN
Summary: Kai did something so devastating that morning, that Kyouji rushed to phone and urged Hiromi to come over. Max fainted, Takao laughed until he could not breathe and Rei well...he's always been the nice one. [Non Yaoi 'gaspshock']


I went from sulking, to sad, to mad and then to being philosophical.

Now I've gone insane.

This story is dedicated to **Morbid Darkness**, whom is a perfect stranger, but she took the time to congratulate me, for having written 145 stories.

And so, number 146 is yours.

Thank you.

**PS-** This story is derived from the KaRe calendar that _Mourir_ drew, which _Nedunque_ later commented on. You'll both understand, when you read the ending.

**Disclaimer:** Nothing  
**  
-A New Shade-**

The mornings progressed in their usual fashion. By seven, Rei was up and in the kitchen, standing over a warm stove, in his housecoat. He was not cooking anyone breakfast; he was not their at home chef. Instead, he brewed a warm cup of tea and sat at the table, as he basked in the glow of the morning sun. A serene smile played upon his lips and he deeply inhaled the scent of green tea, which was always so relaxing.

At ten, Takao raised the depths of his blankets and lazily trudged into the kitchen. He scratched the back of his scull, mumbled something about the morning, which did not involve the suffix, _good_ and finally, he opened his fridge. Toast, eggs, waffles and orange juice would suffice and surely fill the void in his stomach.

Max smiled at him, as he washed his own dishes and flicked bubbled at his friend's head, every so often, while he was still rummaging through the fridge. He usually only woke up, before last, but the usual someone was missing. That was probably why he found the kitchen so quiet and actually peaceful.

Kai was missing!

Around lunch, Kyouji came over, with a bright smile and as the four of them sat together, idly chatting before they ate, a rustling sound resonated down the hallway. They paid no attention to the approaching footsteps, but eager taunting comments were dancing upon the tips of everyone's tongues.

''Kai!-'' Takao was the first to have his go at the eldest, but when his eyes, including three other pairs, focused themselves on the newest arrival, they all fell silent.

Kyouji quickly got up, vacating a seat at the table, and with a discrete, mirthful smile, he ran to the phone. ''Hiromi- Get over here right now! You'll never believe it…''

His sentence was overwhelmed by a sudden round of bursting laughter. Max stood up from his chair, placed the back of his hand, on his forehead and jestingly, he fell back on the chair and feigned unconsciousness. He had fainted! But his laughter reminded everyone in the room, that he it was a joke.

Even without his giggles, Takao's roar of laughter would have been overly adequate. His arms wrapped around his stomach, full from breakfast and he slumped forward, in his seat. The hilarity was evident and after a few moments, of eyes squeezed shut, stomach clenching laughter, he even pounded on the table, with his fist.

Kai stood there, unimpressed, with the worst scowl on his face that he could muster. He glared at each and every one of them and grumbled, ''They didn't have my color'' before he turned his back to them and stood in front of the coffee machine.

Not only had he broken away from his habituated routine, causing a gasp but he was also wearing red face paint, which brought forth the imminent laughter.

Some people were just very immature.

''It suits you.'' Rei suddenly said, as the ruckus finally died down.

Kai smiled at him, over his shoulder and in return, replied with a sincere, ''Thanks.''

Not everyone was that bad…  
**  
-EndE-**

I didn't want to put ''A New _Color_'' because that would have been a dead give away and so, I put shade instead, so that literally, Kai is wearing red face paint, but subtly, he's showing a different shade of himself.

So…?

In my mind, Rei's the reason why Kai got up late but you know…this is non-yaoi, so you have to rely on your own imagination and not mine.


End file.
